Earliest-known, Virginia-made horse racing trophy is acquired by Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Tuesday, November 5, 2024


Earliest-known, Virginia-made horse racing trophy is acquired by Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
“Madison” Horse Racing Trophy, marked by Johnson & Reat (1804-1815), Richmond, Virginia, ca. 1811, silver, Museum Purchase, The Friends of Colonial Williamsburg Collections Fund, The Joseph H. and June S. Hennage Fund, Mark S. Farnsworth, and Partial Gift of the Family of Randolph Madison, Jr., 2023-13.



WILLIAMSBURG, VA.- In October 1810, a horse named Madison (likely in honor of President James Madison), won first place in a race held at the New-Market racecourse in Petersburg, Virginia. Its owner, Revolutionary War veteran Burwell Bassett Wilkes (1757-1815) of Brunswick Country, Virginia, received a $400 cash prize for the win. Although Wilkes, who had turned to farming and breeding in the decades following the war, had several prized racehorses, this victory was certainly his greatest equestrian triumph. To mark the event, Wilkes converted his stakes into a monumental and unparalleled piece of early Virginian silver holloware. Known as the “Madison” Horse Racing Trophy, it descended through five generations of the Wilkes family before recently coming to The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s esteemed silver collection.

“Following more than two hundred years of careful preservation in the family of its original owner, Colonial Williamsburg is honored to become the permanent steward of this important and monumental example of early Virginia silversmithing,” said Ronald L. Hurst, the Foundation’s senior vice president for education and historic resources.

Grand in stature, the Madison trophy stands 13-1/4” high and expands to 10-1/4” between its lip and its handle. Made and marked by Johnson & Reat (1804-1815) of Richmond, Virginia, the trophy is similar in form to a cream pot but on a majestic scale. Its tall, helmet-shaped body is of swollen, rectangular cross-section and has two bands at its mid-point. While the top one is plain and convex, the lower band is milled and carries an undulating grapevine motif. The right side of the trophy bears an engraved inscription, while the other carries an engraved racecourse scene replete with an American flag at the finish line, centered around a cast appliqué of two galloping horses and their jockeys running neck and neck—with Madison in the lead. The body flows into a very narrow neck set above a stepped, rectangular foot with a strip of the same grapevine banding at the bottom. Its pouring lip is edged with an applied gadrooned band that ends in an even higher three-dimensional horse’s head crest. Made of hollow repoussé construction, the horse head details are applied, chased and engraved.

“The Madison Trophy is colossal, a work of silversmithing genius, and jaw-dropping to see. It will instantly grab and hold your attention,” said Erik Goldstein, senior curator of mechanical arts, metals and numismatics. “Nothing like it exists in the world of early 19th-century, Virginia-made silver, and it is unique in the collections of Colonial Williamsburg for many reasons.”

Wilkes, being “low and weak of body,” composed his estate plan in late 1814; he passed away the following year at the age of 57. Described in his will as “a silver Cupp won by Madison,” the trophy went to his daughter Mary “Polly” Wilkes, who saw fit to scratch variations of her initials into the underside of the foot. It seems the formal inscription was added years later and included the erroneous date “Spring, 1811” as shown by contemporary newspaper accounts. The trophy has been preserved in Virginia by Burwell Wilkes’ descendants since it was made.

The Madison Trophy was acquired through The Friends of Colonial Williamsburg Collections Fund, The Joseph H. and June S. Hennage Fund, Mark S. Farnsworth, and a partial gift of the Family of Randolph Madison, Jr. It is currently on view in the Chesapeake section of A Rich and Varied Culture: The Material World of the Early South located in the Nancy N. and Colin G. Campbell Gallery of the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum, one of the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg.










Today's News

April 27, 2023

A Harlem institution reimagines how Americans interact with the African continent

ABAA New York International Antiquarian Book Fair returns to New York for its 63rd Edition

'Jan-Ole Schiemann: New Paintings' now on view at Kasmin

Sherrie Levine Wood now on view at David Zwirner in New York

'Liza Lou: i see you' now on view at Thaddaeus Ropac

'Harmony Hammond: Accumulations' opens today at Alexander Gray

Earliest-known, Virginia-made horse racing trophy is acquired by Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

Powerful photographs documenting humans' impact on the environment to be presented at Hindman

Mauritshuis acquires new tulip for its collection

Ed Sheeran, accused of copying Marvin Gaye, testifies he wrote his song

Bertoia's May 11-12 toy auction slated as hybrid event

Nunu Fine Art New York opens today

Leila Cartier to join Houston Center for Contemporary Craft this summer

'Summer, 1976' review: The path to freedom starts with a friendship

Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers announces 'Comics, Toys & Video Games Auction', live and online, May 6th

Rare example of Second World War Bomber unveiled after decade of conservation

African American Museum, Dallas exhibition of Southern African contemporary masterworks now open

Michael Denneny, 80, dies; Editor created outlets for gay literature

China detains Taiwan-based publisher in national security investigation

Popular Diptych series continues with four new books

Review: Dancing with the flowers and Douglas Dunn

Star choreographer Alexei Ratmansky on Russia's cultural war

Harry Belafonte, folk hero

Cowboy Hats: Different Materials, Brands & Tips to Wear Them in 2023

How to Decorate Walls Using Custom Stencils?

Grow Your YouTube Channel: YouTube Tags For Views




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys
Holistic Dentist
Abogado de accidentes
สล็อต
สล็อตเว็บตรง

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site Parroquia Natividad del Señor
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful